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His comments were echoed by General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, who told the conference at the Honourable Artillery Company in central London: “I readily admit I don’t know what the next war will look like but I believe it will look more like this war than the last war.”

He said future conflicts would not have a battle front on which to fight and there would be no going back to a “simpler age.”

The generals’ speeches will be seen as a criticism of those in the Navy who are arguing for expensive new ships to fight future conflicts against emerging super powers such as China, rather than spending the money on the Army which is more likely to fight counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan or elsewhere.

The government has introduced a Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and Gen Richards said: "The SDR must start where we are, not where we would like to be.

"There are too many analysts and commentators who with hindsight are a little cleverer than perhaps they deserve to be seen as."

Accepting that cuts were on the way, Gen Richards warned his fellow service heads that some large and “cherished” projects would have to be axed.

"I am of the view that the most important long-term strategic factor in our security is economic prosperity," he said.

"If that is so, must we in defence accept that not all our cherished programmes will survive the current assessment?"

Quoting the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, who was meeting with his British opposite number Liam Fox in London, Gen Richards said we were “standing at a cross roads.”

Gen Richards, who became Chief of the General Staff last August, said 2010 was "undoubtedly a critical year" for the Afghan campaign.

He said the deaths of 10 Nato soldiers in Afghanistan yesterday - seven American, two Australian and one French - brought home to him again "just how much this is a war".

The Army chief went on: "The Prime Minister describes it as a war, something that some people were reluctant to do for far too long.”

But he added: "Today, as a result of Afghanistan... we are better than for a very long time.

"Our Army is a tough, battle-hardened force with leaders who, given the freedom, will soon succeed in any conflict, whatever that might be in the future. This is a very precious commodity."

Gen Richards quoted heavily from David Cameron, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, and Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, although the latter is thought to support spending on the Navy.

Projects that could be under threat as part of the Strategic Defence Review are thought to include two new aircraft carriers, six new Type 45 destroyers, and the joint strike fighter programme.

The last Strategic Defence Review was carried out in 1997.

Speaking later, Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said the Strategic Defence Review had to be based around Britain’s foreign policy, threats and the military capability to deal with them.

He said Britain had inherited a “train wreck economy” and had to decide what we could “reasonably afford” in terms of defence spending but that continuous “at sea” nuclear deterrent would be maintained.

Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, said at the same press conference in London with Mr Fox: "I would hope that our allies, before they consider force structure reductions and reductions more broadly in capabilities, will look overall at how they spend their money and ensure that they have taken a hard look at overhead and business practices.”